Stakes raised in poker fight

By Callan Date
THE push to stop 60 new poker machines forming part of the proposed $90 million Casey Towers development at Fountain Gate has moved up a notch.
The Casey Anti Gambling Group will hold a public meeting next Wednesday to discuss various aspects of the electronic gaming machine (EGM) application made by the Grossi and Cardamone Group.
Two guest speakers will address the meeting and provide details of the application process along with research based information on the effect poker machines have on local communities.
The poker machine issue has roused the feelings of many Casey residents – already more than 400 individual objections to the EGM application have been received by the City of Casey.
But a successful objection may results in the Casey Towers project being reduced in both size and quality.
Casey Towers project manager Rick Grounds said if the EGM application was defeated the project would lose about one third of its proposed 140 four-star hotel rooms.
“We would probably have to scale down to three star rooms rather than four stars. The function centre would also be at risk,” Mr Grounds said.
Casey Anti Gambling Task Force member Jan Trezise said it was important people who were against the proposal attend the meeting.
“The saddest finding of available research is that most of the money lost at poker machine venues is lost by the most vulnerable people in our community,” Ms Trezise said.
“These people are gambling away their own and often their family’s weekly budget for basic food and accommodation.’
The Casey Towers development, set to be built on the Princes Highway at the eastern gateway to the Fountain Gate-Narre Warren Activity Centre, is set to consist of two distinctive towers with more than 140 four-star hotel rooms, restaurants and office suites. Casey councillor Michael Farley said that although he was not against the development, he was worried about the poker machines being installed.
“We have got more than 400 residents who have written in opposing the poker machines.
“That is just a phenomenal amount of people. There is a huge amount of people out there that don’t want this to happen,” Cr Farley said.
He said another 700 people had signed a petition against the EGM proposal.
“I would urge people to come along in numbers and voice their opinions.”
The Casey Anti Gambling Group will hold the meeting on Wednesday 5 December from 7.30pm at the Don Bosco Primary School, Princes Highway, Narre Warren.